8 Ways to Style Up the Man Cave

Visit inspiring guys' hangout spaces and see the essentials for one of your own

Always an interior designer, sometimes a Houzz Contributor. I have a passion for modern clean spaces and timeless vintage decor which makes for a unique eye. I work in Los Angeles but offer e-design services nationally. Visit my website and my blog at http://www.veneerdesigns.com

Always an interior designer, sometimes a Houzz Contributor. I have a passion... More

Every guy deserves a dedicated space at home to be himself, relax alone by practicing his chords, entertain his buddies with billiards or TV, or pursuing some other passion. With my husband's help I have put together a list of great examples and 8 top essentials. Take a look and tell me what you think. Did I miss anything?

The idea of a man cave is that it is decorated solely by the man, with no female influence. But if I were to get my hands on a such a space, this is how I would want it to look. High quality wood paneling from floor to ceiling, and organized built-ins to maximize the space (because I wouldn't want to give away too much square footage to my man's man cave). Dark, masculine, refined, gentlemanly.

The basement seems like a well-suited space for a man cave. A large footprint that may have been used for sporadic storage can be transformed to a modern and sleek room. The frosted glass, dark stained wood cabinets, and polished concrete floor are quite masculine in feel. Here a long and narrow floor plan allowed for a kitchenette/bar zone and a media/lounge zone — perfect for entertaining.

The man cave should be inviting, masculine, comfortable and well thought out. This room provides a den-like social space for watching TV and references the gaming and musical elements we come to expect.

The ideal man cave need not be dark as long as it is multi-functional. A jukebox and billiard table are just the beginning. The comfortable seating and deep burgundy walls, along with nice lighting and an Oriental rug, illustrate that a man cave can be an attractive room in the house rather than a sloppy and grungy corner.

An attic man cave doesn't have to be dark — it can be bright and cheerful by utilizing daylight in the form of windows and skylights, and using colorful fabrics and a brightly colored yellow felt billiards table.

Blond wood is not the first stain I would think for the wood I expect to see in a man cave. But coupled with dark furniture, and the requisite billiards table, it looks cool and put together. The blond wood and white walls would make a basement getaway feel lighter and less cave-like.

Now that we have seen a few examples, let's review a list of man cave essentials.

Essential 1: A sense of fantasy. So you don't have to go all out and recreate the bat cave, but infusing your man cave with a sense of fantasy and sharing your passion for the sports legends or comic book heroes that excite you is a nice way to bond with your bros.

Essential 4: A billiards table. Is any man cave complete without a billiard table taking center stage? A round of pool can be played while discussing important things. At the very least, the billiards table provides an explosion of style to the room. Don't forget good lighting above.

Essential 6: Construction materials. Work in some masculine materials that refer to the construction site or rugged spaces. Corrugated steel, concrete floors, exposed brick, and stone are all good candidates.

Non-essential add-on: After all the roughhousing with your friends or a stressful day at the office, a steam room sauna will help melt away all the knotted muscles. The salvaged wood treatment on the outside of the sauna adds to the rustic-modern vibe here.

Tell me: If you could carve out a man cave space, no matter its size, what would you put in it? Would it be in the basement, garage, or attic?

Not sure if it's because I am English but my husbands dream cave would be a work shop, with a tatty man chair, a kettle, toilet, real wood and tools. My promise would be that I would never ever, unless invited, ever go in and even then I may refuse!.

These dream caves are amazing. I like your comment Sharon, if I had a man cave of my own it would be pretty similar to that. I've always been a fan of shuffleboard in pubs. I always thought it would be awesome to have one in a man cave, I actually found a great site http://bit.ly/4JCgTX for shuffleboard tables and I think now is a good time to make it happen... wish me luck!

I agree Lizzie, I would love a mom cave! So much talk for the men getting away, where is our getaway!? I do enjoy <a href="http://www.mccluretables.com/t-shuffleboard.aspx">shuffleboard</a> too though Dave, what a great idea! Its always a fun game to play!

I think a garage conversion would be best. Buddies can come and go without having to use the front door. And you can smoke outside without facing the wife on the way.
Is that a bidet in picture 6? Definitely a no go in my man cave!
Also, downtown living has killed the space available for a pool table... Any ideas to replace that activity centre?

Love the comfortable massage lounge chair. My husband plays guitar and as well has a back problem. A lounge chair which could accomodate both would be ideal. This chair looks like it might be the answer for him. What is the brand name?

Hi everyone! We'll be having a Live Houzz Chat today on how to create the perfect Woman/Man Cave at 11am Pacific! Come by and say hi!
http://www.houzz.com/discussions/637072/Houzz-Live-Chat--Creating-the-Perfect-Woman-Man

Two years ago I left a comment about a man cave but now I am older and wiser. During our house renovations and with my encouragement my husband became the owner of a wonderful workshop and I was more than willing for him to furnish it as he wanted!!!. I cannot call it a man cave, the speed in which that cave turned into a piggery was faster than blue lightening and being attached to the house via a door from the kitchen, the mess and the noise infiltrated the whole house every evening and every weekend, I had to do something. My husband is now installed in a recently purchased wooden workshop, which we have placed at the bottom of the garden and his old man cave will become my new laundry room, I have seen some lovely ideas on the houzz site! and I can't wait to start remodeling it. And before any of you men think my husband is under the thumb, well you are quite right, on this occassion he was.